London Gatwick Airport ranks as the worst airport in the UK for delayed flights, as passengers last year waited an average of 23 minutes for their flight to depart.
The Worst UK Airports for Flight Delays
According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), passengers departing from Gatwick Airport experienced the longest delays in the UK in 2024.
Travellers at Gatwick waited an average of 23 minutes for their scheduled flights to depart, as the airport retained its position as the top UK airport for experiencing delays. The wait time did however make an improvement from the year prior, with the airport receiving an average of 27 minutes delay in 2023.
The airport reduced Air Traffic Control staff numbers in response to a series of Covid-19 lockdowns in recent years, which may have contributed to the delay of flight departures.
Birmingham Airport comes in at the second least-punctual UK airport, with an average delay time of just over 21 minutes. Manchester Airport follows in third with passengers waiting an average of 20 minutes from their initial flight departure time.
The Latest on Gatwick Strikes over the Easter Weekend
This data was released amongst news that some Gatwick ground operations staff went on strike over the Easter bank holiday weekend, one of the UK’s busiest travel periods.
According to trade union Unite, more than 100 airport staff working for ground handling company Red Handling were set to go on strike to protest issues such as pay and pensions.
“The way the workers have been treated by Red Handling has been nothing short of a disgrace” says David Taylor, regional officer of Unite.
“We’re demanding that Red Handling pay all outstanding pension contributions immediately and compensate staff for retirement money they’ve lost, as well as commit to reimbursing them for late payments”.
The strikes are affecting up to 50 flights per day, and are set to continue until Tuesday 22nd April.
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